The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 189 The Mound Guards of Hexi Fort
After capturing the Ganzhou pasture, Jiang Han did not rush to continue north.

After a brief pause, he led his army westward, his forces heading straight for Lintao Prefecture.

His goal was clear—to recruit soldiers.

Last year, when he was in Ganquan County, he fought against the Lintao soldiers led by Wang Chengen, the general of Lintao.

The fact that the team managed to remain calm after being ambushed left a good impression on him.

Now that Lintao Prefecture is not far from here, Jiang Han might as well go and try his luck to see if he can recruit some skilled soldiers to his command.

However, the result greatly disappointed him.

The current commander-in-chief of Lintao has been replaced by the former deputy commander-in-chief, Jiang Yiyang.

Whether in commanding troops or in battle, this man was far inferior to his predecessor, General Wang Chengen.

Last autumn, this man was ordered to suppress local bandits, but he was defeated by a bandit leader called "Red Army Friend," suffering heavy losses and his subordinate, Commander Li Gongyong, was captured alive, causing him to lose all face.

In the end, it was Cao Wenzhao and Yang Jiamo who took action and used a counter-espionage scheme to eliminate the Red Army comrades through the hands of the rebels.

(Jiang Yiyang, the deputy commander of Lintao, encountered bandits fleeing from Changning in Qingshui County and was defeated; several hundred men were killed, including Battalion Commander Xu Chengbin, and Commander Li Gongyong was captured. Cao Wenzhao and Yang Jiamo invited the bandits from Longzhou and went directly to Mazhen Town, where they left a message to sow discord among them; the bandits became suspicious of each other and killed their leader, Hong Junyou.)
As expected, a mediocre general is a mediocre general.

When Jiang Yiyang heard that Jiang Han's army was coming to attack, he was so excited that he led his troops to meet them. As a result, he was defeated in one battle and fled in panic all the way to Lanzhou.

This terrified Zhu Shihong, the Prince of Su, in Lanzhou.

Looking at Jiang Yiyang's defeated army, he thought that the enemy's next target would be to break through Lanzhou and plunder him, a member of the Ming imperial family.

Zhu Shihong was on the verge of tears. His city of Lanzhou was located on the frontier, with vast land and sparse population. He really didn't know where he had come from to be targeted by this group of evil stars.

Speaking of which, Su Fan was an anomaly among the many princes of the Ming Dynasty.

They had neither the vice of bullying men and women, nor the extravagance of being extremely wealthy; in fact, one could say they were relatively poor.

This is not because Lanzhou is remote, but because the Prince Su's faction is not good at management and has a good family tradition.

Su Fan was one of the sponsors of warhorses for the Ming Dynasty, and from the Yongle era onwards, he repeatedly presented warhorses to the court.

By the time it came to Zhu Shihong's father, Zhu Shenyao, the concept of "sharing the nation's burdens" was ingrained in his very being.

Not only did he offer horses to the court every three years, but he also took the initiative to petition the court to return his more than 100,000 hectares of farmland to the court. Emperor Shenzong was so moved that he specially ordered the construction of a memorial archway in his honor.

A good upbringing made things even worse for the already impoverished Prince Su's mansion.

Since ascending to the throne, Zhu Shihong has twice donated funds and supplies to the country.

Last year, seeing the flames of war raging across the Ming Dynasty, he gritted his teeth and donated half of the Mongolian horses left by his father to the imperial court.

Both Prince Su and his son were devoted to calligraphy. The most expensive thing they did was to have the Chunhua Pavilion Calligraphy Collection engraved on stone and spread throughout the world.

The Chunhua Pavilion Calligraphy Collection is known as the ancestor of calligraphy collections. It contains 420 authentic calligraphy works by more than 100 famous calligraphers from the pre-Qin period to the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Prince Su and his son invited renowned experts and spent seven years carving the stone tablet, which was finally completed in the first year of the Tianqi reign. The tablet was then made available for scholars from all over the country to make rubbings.

Jiang Han actually had little interest in a prince with an empty treasury and a reputation for virtue.

However, Prince Su, Zhu Shihong, was terrified by the fleeing soldiers and thought that disaster was imminent.

He gritted his teeth and ordered someone to take a thousand taels of silver to reward the Lanzhou garrison, imploring them to protect Lanzhou and the Su family.

The Su family, father and son, have taken great care of the people and the garrison in Lanzhou and are deeply loved by them. Now, they are even spending their own money to support the army, which has deeply moved the garrison in Lanzhou.

In an instant, the morale of the city's garrison soared. They patrolled day and night without rest, polishing their swords and spears until they gleamed, vowing to live and die with Lanzhou and with His Highness Prince Su.

Unexpectedly, the rebels showed no intention of attacking the city. Instead, they split into two groups not far from the city, one heading towards Gansu Town and the other towards Ningxia Town, and sped away.

This left the garrison in Lanzhou somewhat disappointed.

Having received the money but having no battles to fight, I don't feel at ease taking it.

So, these energetic soldiers, with nowhere to vent their frustrations, turned around and dragged out the local thugs, ruffians, and hooligans in Lanzhou, and gave them a good beating.

It was ostensibly to "improve public order for His Highness Prince Su," which could be considered a small contribution to the security of Lanzhou.

Jiang Han was completely unaware of the chaos and disorder in Lanzhou.

The reason he led his troops toward Lanzhou was simply because Lanzhou is located at the border of Gansu and Ningxia, making it convenient for him to divide his forces there.

That's it.

Jiang Han divided his troops into two parts. One part, led by Shao Yong, marched northwest along the border wall, heading straight into the heart of Gansu Town.

The other team, led by him personally, sped along the border wall towards Ningxia Town in the northeast.

Jiang Han's plan was simple:
Along the long Great Wall defense line, recruit the garrison troops stationed at the front lines to expand your forces.

Considering the long distance to Gansu Town, Shao Yong brought only cavalry on this trip to improve efficiency.

Jiang Han also specifically selected all the soldiers from Gansu in the army and assigned them all to Shao Yong.

These Gansu soldiers were former subordinates of Wang Shih-hu who were captured in the Battle of Lüliang Mountain.

They are familiar with the local customs and traditions, and having them persuade the border soldiers to surrender would surely be much more effective.

Wang Wu was one of them.

He was a soldier in Hexibao, Yongchangwei, Gansu. He was not old, but he had served in the military for a long time.

At the age of fourteen, he picked up a sword and spear for the first time and followed the veterans in the fort to go beyond the Great Wall to fight the Tartars for water.

At the age of twenty-three, he became the chief of Hexibao, in charge of more than forty brothers.

He spent the first half of his life in the dilapidated earthen city of Hexibao. He had hoped to take advantage of the bandit suppression campaign to broaden his horizons and make a name for himself, but before he could enjoy his glory for more than a few months, he was captured in a daze.

Fortunately, Marshal Jiang treated them well.

Wang Wu was later promoted to commander by Jiang Han because he was literate and performed well.

Upon hearing that the commander-in-chief was going to Gansu Town to recruit soldiers, he volunteered to go back and bring all the brothers from the fort out.

Wang Wu did not bring many people with him on this trip, only a group of brothers to accompany and protect him.

These men were all his fellow villagers, brothers who had come out of Hexibao with him.

The group rode fast horses westward along the border wall, heading straight for Hexi Fort.

On the way, Wang Wu stroked his thick cotton armor and the brand-new knife at his waist, feeling a mix of emotions.

The general once jokingly said, "To not return home in wealth and honor is like wearing fine clothes at night."

He didn't know if his current appearance could be considered wealthy.

I wonder how the brothers in the fort are doing now.

Several days later, a dilapidated fortress finally came into Wang Wu's view.

That is Hexibao.

The fortress wall, made of rammed earth, has long been eroded by wind and sand, leaving gaps everywhere. More than half of the crenellations on the top of the wall have collapsed, making it look like an old man with loose teeth and nearing the end of his life.

It is called Hexibao because it is located west of a river called "Shuimochuan".

Upstream of the Shuimo River lies Changning Lake, the most important water source for the surrounding hundreds of miles.

Changning Lake was the root of all the suffering in the nearby military fortress.

When Wang Wu arrived, it was dusk.

He saw a troop of soldiers, dragging their weary steps, staggering back to the fort through a gap in the wall.

Almost every soldier in this troop was wounded, their padded coats tattered and their original color indistinguishable. Several cold corpses were carelessly tossed onto the backs of horses, bobbing up and down with each sway of the horse's gait.

"Sigh, they've gone to steal water from the Tartars again."

Seeing the familiar scene before him, Wang Wu felt as if his heart had been violently clenched.

He knew that this group of soldiers must have gone to Changning Lake to steal water again.

Gansu is bitterly cold and arid, and water is more precious than oil or gold.

The water of Changning Lake is the most important irrigation source for several military garrisons in the surrounding area.

However, the Mongols outside the border wall also depended on Changning Lake for survival.

In order to compete for water resources, the Mongols outside the wall would often build earthen dams upstream to block the river water.

Thus, the outposts at the forefront, such as Hexibao, Shuiquaneryi, and Fengchengpu, had an unwavering mission:

They regularly went outside the border wall to patrol Changning Lake, and if they found any Mongol dams, they were to destroy them.

Every dam destruction is a bloody battle.

Although the Mongol Tartars outside the border wall were poorly equipped, the garrison troops at Hexi Fort were not much better off.

The Mongols at least had horses, although they could only use bone arrows. But the weapons in the hands of the soldiers of Hexi Fort were mostly broken copper and scrap iron.

The blade has more nicks and nicks than teeth, making it difficult to even chop wood, let alone kill a person.

Wang Wu and his group rode tall horses and silently followed behind the troop of soldiers, entering Hexi Fort together.

The soldiers guarding the fort saw Wang Wu riding a tall horse and wearing brand-new indigo-blue cloth armor. They thought it was someone from above, and they didn't dare to breathe loudly, let alone go forward to question him.

They kept their heads down, not even daring to look closely at Wang Wu on horseback, assuming that he was an important person they couldn't afford to offend.

"Hey, Gao family's second son!"

"What's wrong? You haven't seen me for months, and you don't recognize your fifth brother anymore?"

Wang Wu looked at a small flag guarding the fortress gate and spoke first, a smile on his face.

Hearing that familiar voice, the rough man known as the second son of the Gao family looked incredulous.

"Brother Wu Wu?"

Wang Wu dismounted and punched his shoulder hard:

"Gao Yan, you're something else, don't you really recognize me?"

Gao Yan only recognized Wang Wu after he walked in.

He was both surprised and delighted, so excited that he could hardly speak:
"Fifth Brother?! You're back?!"

At this moment, the troop of soldiers at the front also reacted and swarmed around them:
"Fifth Brother, where...where did you go to make your fortune?"

"Weren't you transferred to suppress bandits? Suppressing bandits can earn you so much money?"

A man named Chen Gang looked at Wang Wu's brand-new gear and was so envious that he almost drooled.

Wang Wu looked at the familiar faces before him and smiled.
"Come on, let's not stand outside anymore, let's go inside and talk."

Wang Wu's appearance caused quite a stir in the lifeless Hexi Fort.

He was originally the captain of the fort, and now his "triumphant return" has attracted everyone's attention.

When Wang Wu took out dried meat and flatbread from his bag, preparing to distribute them to everyone,
The emaciated brothers beside him stared wide-eyed, unconsciously swallowing hard.

These men were childhood friends who had grown up in the fortress. They had spent most of their lives guarding this dilapidated fortress and had never seen such exquisite food before.

Wang Wu distributed the food, and as he watched everyone wolfing it down, his brows furrowed slightly.

He held a carefully baked white flour bun and a few pieces of dried meat in his hand, stood up, and glanced around:
"Huh? Where's Li Dong? Isn't he the one who loves to join in the fun the most?"

Upon hearing this name, the previously noisy crowd instantly fell silent.

Upon seeing this, Wang Wu's heart skipped a beat, and he already understood seven or eight parts of the situation.

After waiting for a while, Gao Yan slowly spoke:
"Dongzi, that kid, is dead."

"Last time he went to destroy the dam, he was shot to death by a Mongolian arrow."

"Shot dead?"

Wang Wu's voice suddenly rose in unbelievable tone.

"How is that possible? Could he have been shot in the face?"

Wang Wu's first reaction was that Dongzi had been shot in a vital spot.

The bone arrows in the hands of those Mongols had no power at all; at most, they would only leave a small cut.

Gao Yan let out a long sigh:
"His coat was no longer padded; it was stuffed with straw stalks."

"The bone arrow was unstoppable; it struck him squarely in the back, killing him instantly."

After hearing this, Wang Wu remained silent for a long time, unconsciously stroking the tight cloth armor he was wearing, feeling quite uncomfortable.

"If Dongzi had this, he definitely wouldn't die."

He remembered that Li Dong was the youngest in Hexibao, only about fourteen or fifteen years old.

I used to follow him around like a shadow, calling him "Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother" all day long.

Last year, when I was ordered to suppress bandits, that kid Li Dong even took out his best armor plates, which he had been hiding for a long time and had never been willing to use, and insisted that I sew them into my robe for protection.

I even brought back some steamed buns and dried meat today to treat this kid, but...
Chen Gang, standing to the side, felt a burning desire as he looked at Wang Wu's armor. After hesitating for a long time, he tentatively asked:
"Fifth Brother, can you show us your armor?"

Wang Wu didn't say anything, but silently untied the straps, took off his cloth armor, and handed it over.

Chen Gang carefully took the cloth armor, and felt that it was heavy and substantial.

He stroked the armor carefully with his rough fingers as if he were touching a woman; the lining was thick, and the plates inside were polished smooth.

He carefully touched it for a long time, trying to check if all the nail plates inside were the same.

It wasn't that he was suspicious; it was just a habit of his group of poor soldiers.

Due to the long-term lack of armor, the soldiers would usually replace the badly worn armor plates and sew them into non-vital areas to extend the lifespan of the armor.

After touching it for a long time, Chen Gang was certain that the armor was made entirely of the finest, unparalleled armor plates.

As if possessed, he put the cotton armor on himself.

When the weight of the armor pressed down on his shoulders, a long-lost sense of security and dignity instantly returned to his body.

"Great nails!"

He excitedly stroked his chest, feeling the thick armor plates inside, and murmured to himself.

"Fifth Brother, is this newly issued by the imperial court? Or did you seize it?"

"neither."

Wang Wu's voice was calm yet powerful.

"This was issued by our Commander-in-Chief Jiang."

(End of this chapter)